Hello all, I am new to the forum, i made a similar post a couple days ago but I don't see it in the list of threads so I am reposting it. Feel free to delete this post if the other is live somewhere that I didn't see. After a week of putting the mill together I finally have all of it together. After messing with the guides and the rails and the bunks and dogs for a long time trying to get everything as level as I can, I went to finally turn the bad boy on. The starter cranks, but I can't get the engine going. There isn't much in the Vanguard manual about what to do before the first run, so I just added gas/oil and tried the key. I've seen people say they have trouble with the E stop and interlocking safety switches, so I tried disconnecting them one by one and trying the engine again, with no luck. About to check for spark and put gas in the carb to see if I can start it that way, but does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions about what to try? I called B&S and they told me to take it to anauthorised repair shop,there is one close to me but they won't work on it when it's still on the trailer as they don't have space to store it. So I'm kind of SOL right now which is a very large bummer for such an expensive piece of machinery... especially with a large stack of logs nearby just waiting to be cut up. Thanks to all, any input appreciated.
LOL. That was funny. Good job finally figuring that out. I get a no start sometimes too but it’s always the safety switches in the blade box. I hate those things. I’m getting ready to cut both of those off. Has anybody else cut those safeties out?
Tom Sommer
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Hey Guys,
Glad I'm not the only one that will mutter obscenities into the woods about quality control when there's actually a red valve right there on top that's obviously closed and I just glance right past it. LOL.
Got it up and running, sawdust is flying. Definitely took me quite a few logs to get the hang of running the thing. First I had too much water coming out of the lubrication hose, gunked up sawdust inside the bandwheels and inside the cut which left me with black streaks (burn marks? or maybe just tannins from the white oak?) on the wood. Lowered the water to a trickle and that seemed to do it. Next problem was getting square cuts. First I was doing how they do in the videos i.e. cutting once, rotating 90 degrees up against the log stops, cutting again, repeat 90 degree turn until I have a square cant. It just wasn't giving me a perfect square though even after fussing with the log stops to try and square them to the bed. So now I do the method of cutting once, rotation 180 degrees, cutting again, then rotating 90 and taking a carpenters square between the bunks and the cut face of the log, tweaking it with the log dogs until I get it perfect, then making my next cut. This has proven to give me pretty darn square cants.
Now that I have the hang of it it is such an amazing tool to have! Here is a pic of a shed we just put up, used the mill to make 1-by board and batten siding for it, in the process of staining and attaching the last boards. The logs were left by loggers on the property, so didn't cost me a thing except my time. Thanks for the welcome to the forum, I know I'll be asking a lot more questions here as time goes on. You guys all seem really knowledeable.
Cheers
Edit: will try to figure out how to upload pics only says it allows .txt files hmmm
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.